1. (2023高二上·朝阳月考)  阅读理解

James Dyson on Using Failure to Drive Success

My father died when I was nine, and I remember doing the household chores to help my mother. I hated changing the vacuum cleaner (真空吸尘器) bag and picking up things the machine did not suck up.

Twenty years later, in 1978, I was doing chores at home alongside my wife. One day the vacuum cleaner was screaming away, and I had to empty the bag because I could not find a replacement for it. With this lifelong hatred of the way the machine worked, I decided to make a bagless vacuum cleaner. 

Easier said than done, of course. I didn't realize that I would spend the next five years perfecting my design, a process that resulted in 5,127 different prototypes (设计原型). By the time I made my 15th prototype, my third child was born. By 2,627, my wife and I were really counting our pennies. By 3,727, my wife was giving art lessons for some extra cash, and we were getting further and further into debt. These were tough times, but each failure brought me closer to solving the problem.

I just had a passion for the vacuum cleaner as a product, but I never thought of going into a business with it. In the early 1980s, I started trying to get licensing agreements (许可协议) for my technology. The reality was very different, however. The major vacuum makers had built a business model based on the profits from bags and filters (滤网). No one would license my idea, not because it was a bad one, but because it was bad for business. 

That gave me the courage to keep going, but soon after, the companies that I had talked with started making machines like mine. I had to fight legal battles on both sides of the Atlantic to protect the patents on my vacuum cleaner. However, I was still in financial difficulties until 1993, when my bank manager personally persuaded Lloyds Bank to lend me $1 million. Then I was able to go into production. Within two years, the Dyson vacuum cleaner became a best-seller in Britain. 

Today, I still embrace risk and the potential for failure as part of the process. Nothing beats the excitement of invention. Go out and brainstorm your ideas. You are not bound to any rules — in fact, the stranger and riskier your idea, the better.

1. （1） According to the article, which of the following statements about James Dyson is NOT true? 

   A . He lost his father during his childhood and lived with his mother. B . He decided to develop an innovative vacuum cleaner for his wife while in his thirties. C . He built over five thousand prototypes of the vacuum cleaner between 1978 and 1983. D . The vacuum cleaner he reinvented became popular with British customers as soon as it arrived on the market.
3. （2） According to the article, Dyson's bagless vacuum cleaner was produced in large numbers ____.

   A . in the early 1980s B . before he obtained a patent on the product C . after his bank manager agreed to lend him $1 million D . after he managed to get a $1 million loan
5. （3） It can be inferred from the article that ____. 

   A . Dyson was a born businessman B . Dyson had no confidence in his vacuum cleaner initially C . Dyson's invention might have ended up in failure without his wife D . Dyson's vacuum cleaner was never recognized by other vacuum makers
7. （4） According to the article, which of the following would most likely be Dyson's motto?

   A . We are all failures — at least the best of us are. B . The foundation stones for a success are honesty, faith, love and loyalty. C . It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves. D . The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.